Konoha's Tatsuya

The Land of Water lies east of the Land of Fire, a large island nation surrounded by sea on all sides. Compared to the other four great nations of the shinobi world, the Land of Water has the smallest land area. Due to its distance from the mainland and the barrier of the ocean, the Land of Water rarely intervened in previous Great Shinobi Wars.

However, during the Third Shinobi World War, Kirigakure dispatched a large number of elite shinobi in an attempt to launch a surprise attack on Konoha, only for Might Duy alone to reduce the famed Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to a sorry few. The squad led by the Kirigakure Jōnin, Ao, was also frightened off by Shisui.

Along the way, ANBU Squad 11 traveled swiftly. In just three days, they reached the southeasternmost port of the Land of Fire, preparing to take a ship from there to the Land of Water. At the port, all four changed into different outfits. The Konoha ANBU uniform was too conspicuous, and their current mission was highly classified.

After boarding the ship, Guy turned into a useless weakling, vomiting his guts out. Out on the boundless ocean, Guy's combat effectiveness plummeted to rock bottom.

Seven days later, the ship crossed the vast sea and arrived at the Land of Water. Upon landing in the Land of Water, Tatsuya immediately sensed a distinct difference from the mainland nations. A pervasive white haze enveloped the entire island. The buildings here were mostly constructed from hard stone, predominantly featuring rounded structures. Walking through the streets of a town in the Land of Water, one could clearly feel the tense, oppressive atmosphere permeating the air.

On the evening they landed, Tatsuya's group of four stayed overnight in a small town not far from the port. In the evening, after dinner, the four rested in their room. Inside the room, Tatsuya and Itachi stood silently side-by-side near the window. Down on the street below, a fight was taking place. Several Kirigakure ninja were hunting down a rogue ninja. Encountering something like this on their very first day ashore still surprised Tatsuya somewhat.

That night, none of ANBU Squad 11 rested well. In just one night, no fewer than three fights broke out within the town, almost all involving ninja. For such events, the townspeople seemed long accustomed to it. No one panicked or caused a commotion, nor did anyone step forward to help either side. All the civilians kept their doors tightly shut, remaining completely apathetic throughout!

The next day, the four left the town early and continued their journey. Everywhere they went, the entire Land of Water seemed shrouded in a tense, oppressive atmosphere. Upon entering Kirigakure, this oppressive feeling reached its peak. Entering the village, the four had to go through several rounds of questioning before being allowed passage.

After entering Kirigakure and finding a random inn to settle into, Kakashi gave a brief instruction and went out. Tatsuya and the other two didn't ask much about it. Kakashi had gone out to contact the mission requester. For secrecy, classified details of a ninja team's mission are typically held by the captain.

Thus, Tatsuya, Guy, and Itachi stayed at the inn for several days, while Kakashi came and went mysteriously each day. On the fifth day, Kakashi finally gathered the four of them together to discuss the mission.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's the situation?" As soon as they met up, Guy, now fully recovered, asked impatiently. Hearing this, Tatsuya and Itachi both turned their gazes towards Kakashi.

"The situation in Kirigakure is very complex. We must be extremely careful! These past few days, I've been trying various ways to contact the mission requester, but there has been absolutely no response," Kakashi said, his voice grave.

"Then what do we do?" Hearing this, the hearts of the other three sank.

Kakashi continued, "I'll try to contact the spy Konoha has stationed in Kirigakure and gather more information about the situation here from him. You three don't need to just wait here for news. Starting tomorrow, we'll split into two teams and act separately. Regardless of who the mission requester is this time, we must do everything possible to steer the situation in a direction more advantageous to Konoha."

Having agreed on the plan, the four began to act separately.

Walking the streets of Kirigakure, Tatsuya and the others finally experienced firsthand what the term "Village of the Bloody Mist" truly meant. Killing and rebellion could erupt at any moment; everyone was intensely wary of each other.

Kirigakure, in a dimly lit room, two shadowy figures were gathered.

"My Lord, the people from Konoha Village have arrived. They've been trying to contact us these past few days," one shadowy figure reported to the other in the main seat. The voice was deep and resonant, clearly belonging to a man.

"Have you been able to ascertain their identities?" the figure in the main seat asked. Her voice was hoarse and low, carrying an alluringly mature charm.

"Not yet. They've all concealed their true identities. However, based on what I could sense, all four are quite strong. One of them, in particular, has an astonishingly large amount of chakra," the male shadowy figure replied.

"How does that person compare to Lord Fourth Mizukage?" the female shadowy figure inquired.

"Slightly inferior!" the man stated gravely.

"Oh? A pseudo-Jinchūriki?" The female figure was clearly surprised, murmuring the term under her breath. Konoha Village only possessed one Tailed Beast, the Nine-Tails, which was the strongest among the nine. If that Konoha ninja's chakra reserves were slightly lower than the Fourth Mizukage's, then he couldn't possibly be the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki. Konoha also wouldn't possibly dispatch its precious Jinchūriki for such a mission.

"It seems Konoha Village is genuinely interested in improving relations with our village, otherwise they wouldn't have sent such strong individuals to help us," the female figure concluded after a moment of thought.

Hearing this, the male figure asked, "My Lord, should we initiate contact with them then?"

The female figure considered for a moment, then instructed, "Go make contact with them. In three days, I will meet with them personally." Since Konoha's sincerity and the strength of the dispatched team had been confirmed, they couldn't delay any longer. If any complications arose because of delay, the loss would outweigh the gain!

"Yes, my Lord." The male shadowy figure bowed in acknowledgment.

Several kilometers outside Kirigakure, in a dense forest, a man in ninja attire was resting on a tree branch. The man had short, grayish-white hair, the lower half of his face covered by blue cloth, and wore a Konoha forehead protector. While resting, the man continually scanned his surroundings. The forest was silent, utterly quiet.

Suddenly, a figure appeared silently behind the man. He held a short sword, which he gently slashed across the man's neck.

Spurt!

A large amount of blood gushed out. The man clutched his neck in agony and tumbled from the branch. By the time his body hit the ground, he showed no signs of life. Only then did the killer's figure fully emerge. It was a Kirigakure ninja with their mouth and nose wrapped in a white cloth.